Just because something is new and shiny doesn't mean it's going to be an instant success - that's obvious, right?
Travel, like many other sectors, doesn't seem to take this into account with many of the emerging technologies that are either entering the market or at a very basic development stage.
That's not to say that companies shouldn't be embracing certain types of technology - but there should be some kind of reality test assigned to all of them.
One of the latest waves has come in the form of wearable technology, driven most recently by the usual hoopla which accompanied the release of the Apple Watch.
Countless travel brands were out of the blocks early with their own apps created specifically for the Apple Watch.
Obviously there's a PR value to developing such services, but what is the likelihood of achieving any degree of success or scale?
According to the annual (and amusingly titled) Gartner Hype Cycle For Emerging Technologies, wearables will not reach what the organisation calls a "plateau of productivity" for at least five to ten years.
Other technologies featured in the Gartner list in the five-to-ten year scale include Internet Of Things, augmented reality, connected properties and natural language question-answers.
There is a more optimistic outlook (two-to-five years) for services such as speech-to-speech translation, gesture control and machine learning.
Other travel-related technologies?
- Autonomous vehicles - five-to-ten years
- Biochips (passports) - five-to-ten years
- Digital security - five-to-ten years
To accompany the report's findings, Gartner has produced a chart to plot the progress of the various emerging technologies, complete with tongue-in-cheek periods of time - "peak of inflated expectations", "trough of disillusionment", "slope of enlightenment" et al):
Betsy Burton, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, says:
"This year, we encourage CIOs and other IT leaders to dedicate time and energy focused on innovation, rather than just incremental business advancement, while also gaining inspiration by scanning beyond the bounds of their industry."
The Gartner report is probably not enough to stop travel brands in their tracks, even as they realise that their investment in augmented reality, for example, is yet to show any return.
But it should be a pointer that they mustn't weep too much when some emerging technologies do not turn the world on its head (or add to the bottom line) immediately.
NB:Champagne image via Shutterstock.